In a recent Blog article, Single Room Solutions, we looked at some of the smaller custom installation projects Majik House frequently undertake and why the size of the room in your home shouldn’t preclude having a brilliant bespoke home cinema or media room.
We still have clients pointing out to us that they no longer consider these types of room to be an ‘addition’ to their home, something which is only used periodically: these rooms are used every day by these families for just watching their favourite TV shows or listening to music or, well, just doing the things that families up and down the land do!
Even if you decide that you would like a dedicated room for watching movies or sport, or playing video games or whatever you desire, then size shouldn’t be a limiting factor.
One superb example is a recent modest home cinema project that Majik House completed for a client in Preston, Lancashire.
The room in question was a second and relatively small living room or snug adjacent to the kitchen – a little bit out of the way from the rest of the house and, which by their own admission, was the least used room in their home.
They had an idea of what they wanted but weren’t entirely sure if it would be possible to have an effective and true home cinema in the space available.
Jit Mistry, Sales Director at Majik House: “The room layout is the classic letterbox rectangle so straight away the solution was for a screen on one of the shortest walls and the native 4K projector positioned on the ceiling at the other end of the room so that it had clear sight of the screen.”
“That’s not rocket science, but that alone doesn’t make a cinema room or deliver that all important movie theatre experience. What achieves that is mostly down to what you don’t immediately see.”
“Investing in a native 4K projector means that straight away you’re getting the image detail of the highest quality, rather than upscaling from full HD [1920 x 1080] to achieve the desired resolution. From where we stand today, it’s a future proofing approach to take.”
“Sound is such a key contributor to getting that experience right, and in this room we have 7.4.2 Dolby Atmos cinema sound, achieved by a combination of Monitor Audio three in-wall speakers positioned behind the acoustically transparent screen, side wall speakers, six flush fitted high performance in-ceiling speakers and two in-wall subwoofers.”
“These are powered by a Velodyne High Output Power Amp and Yamaha A6A AV Receiver, positioned in a wall-mounted rack with active cooling, power distribution and isolation panel.”
On paper, that’s a lot of audio power for quite a small space and the effect could easily be overwhelming, but power is nothing without control and the configuration in this room is certainly testament to that.
Wherever you take your seat to enjoy the action – front row or further back – you are treated to the same full, encapsulating sound that’s detailed and both delicate and dynamic.
“The client went ahead with our recommendation and invested in quality carpet with an underlay that would also support the audio; not always something that’s high on a wish list for a media room, but it does make a tangible difference and well worth doing.”
The lighting design wholeheartedly adds to the whole effect, a combination of Majik House’s proprietary down-lighters and LED strip-lighting within the recessed ceiling reveals which are pre-programmed with colour scenes to the client’s choosing. “The walls are finished in Venetian polished plaster with the marble-effect texture and colour of the render really accentuating the lighting; it’s another element which really adds to the whole experience in the room.”
Lighting control is courtesy of Control4 and the wall-mounted dual dimmer / automation keypads, along with Control4 CORE 1 controller and the ever dependable Control4 SR260 remote for easy operation of the AV and implementing lighting changes when the action is about to start.
“This is a really great home cinema room; not a good, small cinema room, but a top-end cinema room.” concludes Jit. “The performance and experience achieved here is as good as I’ve seen in much bigger rooms and is testament to what’s possible in this type of space.”
Our client comments that the room is now one of the most used in their house, with all the family enjoying what is now a very much loved addition to their home.
So what’s involved in creating a bespoke home cinema room like this?
The full installation for this project, including the joinery and décor, was under six weeks so not too much intrusion or inconvenience for the family.
Excluding the seating and wall finishes, you can expect to budget around £25,000 to £30,000 for a home cinema or media room of similar size and specification. Remember, this is a real investment in your home and something that, should you ever decide to sell, will definitely be reflected in the valuation of your home.
But, as we always say, the real value is in the many hours of sheer enjoyment that you, your family and friends can expect from a room like this, and that’s something you can’t put a price on.
